Australia vs India is one of the oldest rivalries in the world Cricket. And things have just got tastier since the turn of the century as India has improved a lot in a decade or two thanks to a number of star players. The head-to-head is more towards the Aussies but this is more due to their dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s. And the current Indian tour of Australia has been like a dream come true for the Indian fans. An impressive display in the T20 series which resulted in a draw but could very easily have ended in favour of the men in blue if the weather would have been more appropriate.
The test series will remain long in the memories of the Indian fans thanks to their first-ever victory in Australia. And it ended 2-1 in favour of the visitors and it was one hell of a dominant display. When the two sides lock horns for the One-Day series, it surely wouldn't be a walk in the park for either one of them. While India will look to end the series on a positive note, the Aussies will not go down that easily and will go all-out for the victory. The 3-match ODI series promises to be a cracking contest.
As both the teams gear up for the matches, we at Sports Social will look at some of the most epic encounters between the two sides:
1. 3rd League Match, Titan Cup, Bangalore, 1996:
Australia won the toss and elected to bat but couldn't capitalise on their decision thanks to the power-packed Indian bowling attack. They finished with a below-par 215-7 with Mark Taylor leading the scoring charts with 105 runs off 144 balls. India dumped to 47 for 4 before Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja put on a short but handy partnership. Another collapse left them to 169-8. Then came another twist in this incredible tale. Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble stood to the occasion displayed some of their grit determination winning the game for India. Sachin was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ for his impressive 88 runs.
2. 6th Match, Coca-Cola Cup, Sharjah, 1998:
Coming into this match, India knew that they had to win this match or else depend on the run-rate to proceed any further in the tournament. Australia had already booked their spot in the final. With magnificent knocks from Michael Bevan (101 not out) and Mark Waugh (88 runs), they managed to put up 284 runs. India knew that a total of 254 runs was enough to get them through. The game was evenly balanced at 143-4 in 31 overs. A ‘Desert Storm’ interrupted the play and the game restarted with India needing 276 runs to win in 46 overs. And 237 runs at least to advance to the finals. The Sharjah crowd then witnessed one of the most magical innings of that time. Next 11 overs led to a total of 100 runs with the little master showing some of his class to take India to the 237-run mark. Sachin got out for 143 off 131 runs looking for a victory. India fell short by 25 runs in the end.
3. CB Series 2nd Final, Brisbane, 2008:
India led 1-0 in the finals and a win here and the trophy is theirs. India won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers put on an impressive stand of 94 runs for the first wicket. They were 205-4 in the 40th over and looking something around 280. But some quick wickets led to 258-7. Then, Australia went off to the worst possible start when they were 32-3 thanks to Praveen Kumar heroics in the powerplay. The trio of Gilchrist, Ponting and Clarke gone. Hayden and Symonds got the innings back on track before Michael Hussey and James Hopes put on a 76-run stand. After Hussey got out, the last few wickets came quick.
4. Quarter-Final, World Cup, Ahmedabad, 2011:
Favourites India and defending champs Australia face one-another in the quarter-final itself. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first and managed to put up a respectable total of 260 runs with Ponting scoring a ton. In reply, India were 187-5 at one time. Every top-order batsman had got starts (except Sehwag). When Raina went in to bat, 74 runs were still required. Yuvraj and Raina soaked in the whole pressure and won with 15 balls still to spare. This is how the Indians roared into the Semi-Final.
5. 6th ODI, Nagpur, 2013:
Both the teams had scored in excess of 300 runs coming into this match. The fourth and the fifth ODIs were washed out due to rain. India trailed 1-2 coming into this match. India won the toss and elected to bowl. This decision actually backfired when the Aussies put on a 168 runs partnership for the third wicket. Australia scored a total of 350 runs in 50 overs with both Bailey and Watson scoring hundreds. India had chased down a total of 350+ in that tournament itself. So the game was not over by any means but it wasn't going to be easy for any side. Miracles don't happen every time, right? But in reply, Dhawan (100) and Rohit (78) gave the best start possible. Virat Kohli was taking on the Australian attack and was striking the ball with some conviction. But Yuvraj and Raina went on consecutive deliveries and on came Dhoni. Two of the greatest finishers of the game actually finished this one too, winning in style with 3 balls to go. Kohli scored 115 runs in 66 balls.
India vs Australia is one of the fiercest contest in the world and it has lived up to the expectations time and again. Let's just hope for the same in this series too.
